In recent years, the storage capacities of various data recording media have increased. Further, broadcast data receiving apparatuses, video recorders (data record/playback apparatuses), and the like are put to practical use in increasing numbers. The broadcast data receiving apparatus and the data record/playback apparatus record compressed data such as video contents (programs) or music contents (programs) in a recording medium. Most broadcast data receiving apparatuses and most data record/playback apparatuses use, as recording medium, a magnetic disk such as hard disk drive (HDD), a semiconductor memory device such as solid state drive (SSD), or an optical disk such as digital versatile disk (DVD).
Further, the communication network technology has advanced in recent years, and LANs have been provided in offices and houses in increasing numbers. Various guidelines are available, including digital living network alliance (DLNA). If a LAN connects apparatuses compatible with DLNA to one another, these apparatuses can share contents.
Moreover, the wireless communication technology has advanced in recent years, and more and more wireless LANs (WLANs) have come into use. If a WLAN connects apparatuses compatible with DLNA to one another, these apparatuses can acquire contents from one another.
To connect apparatuses by using a WLAN, an enrollee (slave apparatus) must input authentication data to a registrar (master apparatus), thereby to achieve connection setting. To accomplish the connection setting easily, a communication apparatus has been provided. This communication apparatus transmits authentication data from the enrollee to the registrar (see, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2008-283422, which is a Japanese patent document).
To activate the DLNA function that enables the mutually connected apparatuses to share the contents, however, it is necessary to turn on both the power supply of the apparatus (client) that plays back any content and the power supply of the apparatus (server) that supplies the content. These apparatuses may be located remote from each other and may be connected to each other by the WLAN. In this case, the user who operates the client needs to turn on the power supply of the server. This is troublesome for the user.
This problem can be solved by the wake-on-LAN (WOL) function that controls the power supply of a remote apparatus through a LAN. If a LAN connects the client and the server that are compatible with the WOL function and the connection setting is duly achieved, the client apparatus can turn on the power supply of the server apparatus. However, the user must input the authentication data to achieve the WOL setting. This is troublesome, too, for the user.